Great job Josh!  We received the core of this bumper from Elevation and Josh made it our own.  Love it!

We use a cue sheet format we received from Elevation Church.  They received the cue sheet format from another church….point?  Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Anyway, I believe that one reason for the smoothness of night was the use of this cue sheet.  We had several elements: 2 computers, 3 screens, 2 separate light boards, a spot, sound techs…Yikes!

"Side" refers to the computer running the side screens, and "middle" refers to the computer running the center screen.  "House" refers to house lights.  "Video Reading" had its own cue sheet when we got to that point. (You’ll see why later!)

And run-throughs.  real time run-throughs are critical – essential – non-negotiable!  If you want your techs to know what is going on do this!  Plus you want to make sure all of your video and media elements work correctly.

Simply Christmas = Simply Amazing!

I sit here amazed at what happened last night.  I have never been part of something so magnificent in my life.  This year’s Christmas Eve service was a complete success!  And here is why:

1. As far as I can tell, between 500-600 people were there last night.  I know how much each section seats and with the few empty chairs we had – that is my best guess.

2. Over 10K was taken up for Simply Love campaign.  50% of which will be given to the Hope House and Thurman Brisband Center!

3.  5 barrels of food was collected for the Fredericksburg Food Bank!

4. 25 people indicated that they gave their lives to Christ last night!  Praise the Lord!  And many more than that raised their hands during the invitation.

5. I estimate that over 40 volunteers came out to make this a success.  They arrived at 11:30 AM and left at 9:00 PM.  Each helped share the Gospel with what they accomplished.  The Host Team was on their best game ever!  The tech team accomplished the most technically difficult service we’ve ever done!  The parking team was off the hook!  The setup and teardown guys were selfless and determined.  The decorators were magic.  And the refreshment area rivaled Starbucks.

In summary, I am so blessed to be part of Lifepoint Church.  At one point after the service was over, I walked outside to see Luminaries lining the sidewalk.  I thought to myself, "When were these put out?  Who did this?"  There were things happening all around me that even I didn’t know about.  Leaders were finding answers to challenges, volunteers said, "whatever I need to do let me know," and the night became a true Church event.

This night wasn’t about me.  It wasn’t about the creative team.  It wasn’t about the leaders.  And it wasn’t even about the volunteers.  It was about Christ, and the sacrifice he made.  It was about those who crossed over from an eternity in hell to an eternity in heaven!

I am so proud of all of you who helped and your families.  Concertedly, you helped pull off the greatest night Lifepoint Church’s history.  THANK YOU!

P.S. Videos, techniques, and creative elements to come!

I am a high strung individual.  Everybody that knows me just thought to themselves, "that’s an understatement!"  But I am what I am.  I wear a night-guard at night so I don’t grind my teeth.  I shake when I get nervous.  My nerves are generally shaky anyway when I’m not nervous!

But today I am hours away from the biggest service I am in charge of – our annual Christmas Eve service.  And this is by far the biggest thing I have ever been a part of.  And aside from the few butterflies that have nested in the depths of my belly, I am at peace.  I’m not really nervous.

There comes a point when you just want the thing to get here.  The ‘thing’ being what you have planned and prepared for for months.  You’ve thought of everything you can think of (except I just thought I need to get someone to get diesel for the generator).  There really isn’t much else you can do.  Now you just have to sit back and watch the thing unfold.

But I would be amiss to not acknowledge the people who are keeping my mind at ease – the leaders who make things happen:

Kimberli – She is on caffeine 24/7.  At least she seems like it.  Always happy, always energetic, and always ready to do whatever is needed.  She has rounded up a great group of people to decorate the facilities.  She is one of my best singers but felt she could be utilized better this way for this service.  Great family!

Sara – Sara is taking the refreshments from my wife this year.  And Jennifer is grateful.  Sara has thought of everything.  She has a great team around her.  She even got the coffee and cups donated by local businesses!

Matt – ‘The Musicman’.  Sing a lyric and he probably knows the song, artist, and year.  He always has a ‘what can I do next’ attitude.  A great leader in his own right, he has helped build the worship team through these busy months, plan worship, and still get the music ready for tonight.  Great job! (LOVE THE ORNAMENT!)

Tom – I love this guy.  He just wants to know the goal and watch out – it will be done before you know it.  He handles all of our parking team, our signage, and various other unmentionables.  Thank you Tom!

Jeremy – Jeremy has last minute helped us organize the setup and tear down process.  A huge task by any measure.  These guys are brutes…in a good way.  The are the workhorses of the church.  They do a job that isn’t seen but absolutely critical.  And when you try to thank them they just shy away and pick up something else that is heavy.

Michael – Better known as Slim Shady…no wait…Whitey.  Oops.  He is a rising leader in our church and is doing a great job organizing all of the ushers and greeters.  We will triple what we usually have on a Sunday tonight!  And the dude is the funniest guy I know.

Kristen – What does she NOT do?  I usually am trying to pull the reigns on her.  She is a ‘get-r-done’ type of person.  Always thinking of ways to make the service better.  She is my production manager and has done a great job keeping us on track.  Cue sheets, school maps, organizing our effort with the local charities – she is awesome to have!

Josh – ONE MAN MACHINE.  He has done ALL of our graphics.  ALL of our videos.  ALL of…well anything that has to do with a Mac and design.  He works his butt off for this team and I can’t thank him enough.  Not only is he a great family pastor, he is my favorite conceptual designer out there…and we have him!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO MAKE THIS NIGHT HAPPEN!  IT IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLE!

So I realize I have be very quiet lately.  But the duties of Christmas have been calling and I haven’t given much thought to writing….nor reading for that matter.  I finally had a break today to catch up!

But this Christmas Eve will be amazing.  I promise.  We have an army of people helping out, and the creative team has really knocked this one out of the park.

Even more exciting, we’ll be meeting at one body under one roof!  Massaponax High School has graciously allowed us to use their facilities for the event.  I can’t wait!

I posted a question about conferences a few months back and didn’t get much response.  So let’s try again!

We can go to 2 confrences a year.  One will definetly be Drive at Northpoint.  So I can choose 1 more.  What do you recommend?

Buzz Conference – D.C. – June 08
Purpose Driven Worship – Orange Co. – June 08
Willow Arts Conference – Chicago – June 08
C3 – Dallas – 08
Catalyst – Atlanta -Oct 08
Re:Create Conference – Franklin – Feb 08

Please help!

Hmmm….how can I get one of these?

I had such a blast yesterday!

My ministry entails the Foyer environment….Host Team, Tech, Worship, the whole kit-n-caboodle.  So yesterday I let Tammie lead worship and helped out with the Host Team.

First the band and production team did awesome!  They never even had to ask for help…just took the ball and ran with it.  I was so proud of them!  Its a great feeling to know that the ministry can function without me.  That just means our leadership structure is working and people are stepping up to the plate.  And we have such a talented band and worship team!  We even had a new gal on stage doing guitar…she rocks!

But back to the Host team – I had so much fun yesterday.  It was a good change of scenery.  It was great to see the faces of those serving in that area, getting to share my heart with them, and I even got to make coffee!  2nd service I helped with the ushering and had a blast taking teachable moments and sharing with some of the workers.  I look forward to doing this more in the future!

We had a fantastic day yesterday in worship.  Going for something different we chose an accoustic set.  Only my guitar, some congas, and 2 vocals.  There was a great vibe and a great time of worship!

My Savior Lives – New Life Worship
Mighty to Save – Hillsongs
Angels we Have Heard on High/You are Glorious – Pickwell